British Marques

Rumours of the British car industry's death have been greatly exaggerated. For while there are no volume British badges under British ownership the car industry generally finds the UK a good place to do business. There are currently well over a dozen big car plants in the UK making cars from the lowly Nissan Invitation right up to the McLaren MP4-12C supercar and Rolls-Royce Phantom. The UK is home to plenty of cars too. Ellesmere Port is home of the Astra; Sunderland is home of the Qashqai and Swindon is home of the Civic. The Vauxhall and Nissan plants are some...

As public spats between two companies go, the war of words between Lotus and Caterham is one of the feistier offerings. After a drawn-out battle over the rights to the Lotus F1 name which ludicrously saw two teams use different variations of the name last year, it has now gone a step further with a bizarre press release from Lotus blasting everybody from Caterham boss Tony Fernandes to the world media. Of course, things haven't been rosy at Norwich-based Lotus for some time now. After revealing a plan to scrap the traditional lightweight sports cars, the brand decided to launch an ambitious plan...

After 75 years out of the limelight, Atalanta Motors is back.That might raise little more than a snort of bafflement – Ataltanta has been away a long time after all –but we’re told that it was ‘the most innovative and stylish pre-war British car manufacturer’.Whether the likes of Jaguar, Bentley and Rolls-Royce or Morgan will agree with that sentiment, we’re not sure, but is there reason for the ‘British’ heavyweights to get panicky?Probably not. Atalanta doesn’t even have a working email address or website yet and, in its first and only stint in production, it built just over 20...

Rolls-Royce has revealed that it will expand its bespoke operations at its Goodwood location with staff swelling to 50 bespoke experts.They’ll include new designers, engineers and project management staff all of which have been headhunted because of increasing demand for the prestigious and infamous services it provides.That means more people than ever will be able to request a bespoke item from Rolls-Royce’s Sussex stronghold.Recession? What recession?Famous extrasLike most manufacturers, Rolls-Royce offers an impressive range of extras and add-ons for its models including lane departure alerts, multimedia systems and head-up display but it doesn’t stop there for potential customers.That’s because you...

This week we take a look at Aston Martin's viral oddity True Power Should Be Shared for the Rapide; Volkswagen's contrasting ad styles; and Audi's use of chilling terror in its advertising.Aston Martin Rapide videos: Should True Power have been shared? Aston Martin and James Bond - a classic combination that has no douybt benfited both brands through the years. It's not that long agto that a brand new DBS was written off in a stunt for Casino Royale on Millbrook's hill route (a route MT has also driven in an Aston Martin DBS, though we didn't write it off).And you...

Here at MotorTorque towers we love a classic, iconic car. In fact, that's part of the #carspotting fun. So we're delighted to see Jaguar has released a whole host of images showing 75 years of Big Cat creations, not to mention some interesting facts about the brand.It's all in celebration of Jaguar's 75th anniversary, where 75 Jaguar cars from the past and present will be driven from the manufacturer's home in Coventry to the Goodwood Revival on Saturday.So, if you see any of these magnificent machines on the road, be sure to give them a wave - and in true...

Car manufacturers face a constant battle to keep the test cars of new models away from the prying eyes of the public, and even more so because motoring magazines (ahem) are keen to display the latest model in all its glory.The result? Crazy, swirling, colourful camouflage draped over the latest cars as they are tested in the real world environment. However, recently, manufacturers are hitting back by releasing spy shot images of their own cars, such as the above image of the Kia Sportage – handily attached to a press release outlining the benefits of rigorous real world testing.Normally we’d...

The Range Rover was launched on June 17th 1970 and was as ground-breaking then as it is iconic now. Although the first luxury 4×4 to rule off-road as well as on-the-road, it wasn’t always the footballer’s choice we now know it as.The very first model, known as the Range Rover Classic, had a 25 year lifespan – from 1970 to 1995. It wasn’t intended to be a luxury 4×4 like its American competition; in fact, the interior was designed to be washed down by hose! Industrial would be an understatement.However, it didn’t take long for the Range Rover to become...

So, hot on the heels of the mystery surrounding the appearance of a brand new 2010 Jaguar XJ model appearing at Downing Street, just in time for a new government, comes another XJ to whisk away the new Home Secretary, Theresa May.These do not appear to be government fleet vehicles, but two XJs loaned to the Metropolitan Police. For its part Jaguar is pleading bafflement that these two cars have just happened to have turned up in front of the world's media at an historic time for UK politics.All we've got from Jaguar is: "Jaguar have loaned the Metropolitan Police...

Alistair Ball from Classic Automotive has sent over some stunning images of the McLaren MP4-25 Formula One car that will be driven by Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton in 2010.The reveal at Woking last week is described most amusingly in an article from the Telegraph:It was like something out of Romeo and Juliet; two lovers on a balcony, giddy with excitement, extolling the other's virtues in the most glowing terms.Except that, for Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, the lines were delivered using microphones while the entire workforce of Vodafone UK stood beneath them snapping away at the blossoming courtship on...